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Tesla Sweden takes a stand against union strike with new Superchargers

Credit: TeslaCharging/X

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Tesla Sweden recently took a stand against union IF Metall using its Superchargers.

Tesla Sweden highlighted just how much the union’s actions and protests are inconveniencing everyone—even drivers outside the electric vehicle maker.

Tesla Sweden vs IF Metall

  • IF Metall’s strike against Tesla Sween has been going on for over a year now. 
  • The EV maker is not just in conflict with IF Metall either, as other unions have implemented sympathy strikes to disrupt Tesla Sweden’s operations
  • As a result of these sympathy strikes, some Supercharger stations that have been built by Tesla remain inactive even if the sites themselves are completed. 
  • This was because some employees of companies responsible for connecting the Superchargers to the grid are forbidden from working with Tesla due to their collective agreements.
  • There are currently five new, completed Supercharger stations with 72 stalls that remain inactive across the country.

Tesla Sweden’s jab

  • In what appears to be a jab against IF Metall and its allies, Tesla opted to post a clear message on its completed but inactive Superchargers
  • “Here, all EV drivers could charge for emission-free travel, contributing to a sustainable Sweden,” Tesla wrote on its inactive Supercharger sites. The fact that the Superchargers are “Ready to Connect” was also highlighted.
  • Other Tesla Superchargers featured a message stating that one Supercharger in Sweden helps avoid approximately 60,000 kg of CO2 emissions annually.
  • Tesla also included a graphic of the company’s hedgehog mascot, which was wearing a vest that stated, “Thanks, I’m good.” The vest was worn by Tesla Sweden employees who did not participate in the union’s protests against the electric vehicle maker.

A potential Tesla lifeline

  • The refusal of local energy companies to connect Tesla’s completed Superchargers is reportedly under investigation by the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate, as noted in a report from Allt Om Elbil.
  • As noted by the publication, local energy companies typically only deny the connections of installations like EV charging stations due to issues like lack of network capacity or other “specific reasons.”
  • It then remains to be seen if IF Metall’s protests against Tesla qualify as valid “specific reasons.”
  • The investigation is expected to be completed by spring 2025.

What they’re saying:

  • Jerker Sidén, an analyst at the Energy Markets Inspectorate, shared some insights about the matter. 
  • “That’s what we are investigating. Historically, we haven’t had many cases about denied connections. This is what we’re assessing now,” the analyst noted.
  • Tesla Director of Charging Max de Zegher also shared his thoughts on the matter in a post on X.
  • “We’re ready to turn on 72 Supercharger stalls for the holidays for all Swedish EV drivers. Superchargers are the most affordable charging, support all EVs, and are critical infrastructure to support peak travel days. Important for EV adoption in Sweden that current & future Superchargers get energized asap by utilities currently blocking us from opening them,”  the Tesla executive wrote.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before

SpaceX’s Starship flew successfully Friday, landing both stages and deploying its first Starlink V3 satellites.

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Starship’s thirteenth test flight delivered exactly what SpaceX needed with a clean liftoff, two successful stage recoveries, and the first real payload the vehicle has ever carried to space. Booster 20 and Ship 40 lifted off at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, and by the time the mission wrapped roughly an hour later, both halves of the rocket had done exactly what they were supposed to do.

Booster 20 separated from Ship 40 a few minutes into the flight and stuck a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six minutes after liftoff. That is a meaningful turnaround from Flight 12 in May, when the booster lost several engines during its boostback burn before a hard water landing attempt.


Starship 40’s performance was arguably the bigger win. The vehicle deployed the first 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever carried, then flew a suborbital arc to a landing in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX commentator Dan Huot called the company’s softest splashdown yet. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data,” Huot said on the live broadcast, according to Space.com’s live coverage. “I’m a little over the moon right now. Wow. Lucky number 13.”

Unlike the mass simulators SpaceX flew on Flight 12, these were production Starlink V3 satellites, meant to extend solar arrays and antennas and attempt to link with the broader constellation before reentering minutes later. Getting real hardware through a full deploy sequence on only the second flight of the V3 generation keeps Starship on schedule for the payload work NASA is counting on for future Artemis lunar landings.

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026

The flight also arrives at a moment when SpaceX needed a win. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price since mid-July, as Teslarati reported when the mission slipped to Friday, and short interest has climbed to roughly a third of the tradable float. A clean flight will not fix a balance sheet, but it does answer the one question SpaceX absolutely needed answered this week: whether the fixes made after the July 16 abort would hold up under real flight conditions. They did, on both stages, on the first try after the redesign.

SpaceX has not set a target date for Flight 14, though the company has said it wants to push toward an orbital attempt on the next mission. After Friday, that goal looks a lot more within reach.

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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

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